


underneath the armour

by bickz



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Hugs, Injury, M/M, Mutual Pining, Possibly Unrequited Love, Post-Battle, Post-Time Skip, Scars, Undressing, emotionally constipated felix, sad dimitri, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 09:08:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21241628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bickz/pseuds/bickz
Summary: Dimitri isn't the boy Felix grew up with -- not anymore. But maybe, just maybe, there's still some semblance of who he used to be underneath all of the anguish.





	underneath the armour

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be smut ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> i used the dialogue prompt "i can't stand the thought of losing you" as inspiration

Dimitri always gets like this after a close battle, when they’ve won, but at the cost of many lives. They return, beaten and battered, much worse for wear. And Dimitri just kinda…wanders around, silently checking in on those recovering from their wounds, never saying a word, yet the look on his face says it all. It’s at these moments that Felix swears he can spot small glimpses of the man he once knew, of the kind, compassionate, gentle prince that used to roam the halls of Garreg Mach.

“You oaf, I told you,  _ I’m fine _ ,” Felix hisses adamantly. He sits perched on the edge of his bed, his hair loose, a mess of sweat, blood, and dirt that cascades over his shoulder. Most of his armour and clothes are scattered across the floor, in various states of blood-soaked and ruined. “It’s just a few scratches.”

The solemn expression in Dimitri’s single eye remains fixed on Felix, and he’s unmoving where he stands at the foot of the bed. Felix had let his King into his room out of courtesy, but now he has well overstayed his welcome.

“Go get yourself checked by Mercedes -- I think you hit your head, boar,” Felix spits, annoyed, as he wipes at a long, bloody gash on his forearm. He hates when the others try to tend to him post-battle. If he needed their help, he would seek them out. He’s not a fool.

Dimitri steps closer at that, eliciting an exasperated sigh from Felix. Usually Sylvain and Annette are the ones that refuse to listen to Felix, never Dimitri. Still, Felix just wants to be left alone. He’s more than competent enough to clean his own wounds. He opens his mouth to properly scold the Boar King for not listening, but then he looks up and finally notices the aching concern in that glossy blue eye. Felix inhales sharply, standing quickly despite the pain that radiates through his sore limbs.

“Dimitri? Are you alright?” 

There’s no response, just Dimitri staring down at Felix, and then a single tear escapes down his blood-stained cheek. Felix doesn’t know what to do. 

“Hey, uh, let’s get you to Mercedes--”

Without warning, Dimitri lunges towards Felix, two thick arms appearing from the depths of his tattered cloak to wrap around the smaller man. Felix is taken completely off-guard, unable to react until he’s been properly pulled into a…hug? He sputters, eyes wide, wind knocked from his lungs as he’s pressed against the tarnished, cold surface of Dimitri’s breastplate. 

“D-Dimitri?” Felix breathes. If he wasn’t so battered, he would definitely be thrashing about in displeasure. 

“Felix…” Dimitri finally speaks up. His voice lacks its normal hoarseness, coming out kind of soft, low, a little choked. “I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

Felix feels his chest clench, and he dismisses it as another body pain from the battle. “I know, you stupid boar. Your forces would be severely weakened if I were to--”

“No, Felix,” Dimitri cuts him off, not sounding angry like usual. Just…insistent. He holds Felix closer, leaning his head down until his mouth is right next to Felix’s ear. “Felix, please, don’t leave me too.”

That cuts Felix right to the core, and without thinking, he brings his own arms up to wrap around Dimitri’s shoulders. It’s an awkward embrace, several inches of height and all the sharp edges of Dimitri’s armour making it difficult. But Felix manages, getting his hands into Dimitri’s hair to squeeze him ever closer against his bare shoulder despite how his every muscle burns. Something about holding each other like this feels so familiar, so right, even though they’ve never been quite this close before. They’ve always kept themselves at a comfortable distance, careful to never let anything more than what was necessary slip. 

“I’m fine, Dimitri,” Felix reassures his King. He can feel Dimitri relaxing, feel his broad shoulders sag as he turns his head just enough to press dry, cracked lips against Felix’s neck. “I’m here-- I’ll  _ always _ be here.”

“Felix,” Dimitri whispers, and his warm breath tickles Felix’s skin, makes him shiver. “ _ My Felix _ .”

Felix swallows hard, his throat constricting as he tries to say something more, to put into words the things he pretends he doesn’t feel. He opts for massaging his fingers into the back of Dimitri’s neck and scalp, listening to his King breathe softly. When Dimitri slowly begins to pull back, Felix would be reluctant to let go if he didn’t hurt so bad. They stare at each other for a moment, barely a breath’s distance apart, something left unspoken between them before Dimitri stands upright and looks forlornly towards the door.

“You can stay,” Felix blurts out, a little too eager. He feels his cheeks heat up.

There’s a hint of a smile on Dimitri’s face when he turns back to Felix and merely nods. Felix gestures to his bed, and that’s how he ends up removing layers of dented armour caked in dirt and carnage, peeling back metal to reveal the still very human beast beneath it all. Dimitri zones out for most of it, his eye going unfocused as Felix easily undoes the clasps and moves his King’s limbs to undress him. Felix is a bit hesitant at first, waiting for the Boar to lash out at him for getting too handsy. But when it becomes clear that Dimitri is complacent, Felix lets himself caress each scar he unveils, gentle in his reverence as he traces the reminders of Dimitri’s past. 

“Felix,” Dimitri mutters once they both sit there in nothing but their undergarments. Felix feels that pang in his chest again, and before he can stop himself, he’s leaning over to wrap his arms around his King, sighing contently as he finally feels the warmth of his long-lost friend.

“I’m here, Dimitri,” Felix replies, pressing his lips against Dimitri’s neck. He doesn’t know why he does this, it just feels like the right thing to do. “I’m here.”


End file.
